Program aims to bring young academic talent to Canada

Hundreds of international students are spending their summer in Canada, as part of a program designed to draw young talent and their expertise to the country.

The post-secondary students are researching everything from childhood obesity to space telescopes.

Jefferson Chicarelli is one of the students participating in the Mitacs Globalink program.

The Brazilian student is spending his summer at the University of Toronto, where he is working on a project that relates to 3D printers and prosthetic limbs.

Chicarelli told CBC News the program is more than an internship, "but as well an international experience which is amazing."

His visit to Canada has also been a win for the colleagues he's been working with.

Matt Ratto, an assistant professor with the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information, said he plans on signing up for the program "every single year" based on how things have gone so far this summer.

"These students are coming from a diversity of disciplines, so it's not that I'm getting students that have the same skill set as my current students — I'm getting students who are attracted to the projects that I'm working on from other backgrounds," he said in an interview.

Click on the video above to see a full report from the CBC's Marivel Taruc.